Variety (Sep 1933)

9th INTERNATIONAL NUMBER RADIO SCREEN STAGE Published Weekly^ at }6i West 46th St., New Tork, N. T., br Varietr. Inc. Annual subscription, $e. Blnele copies, 16 cents, Entered aa second-class matter December 22, 1906. at the Post Office at New Tork, N. T., under the act oC March 3, 1S79, COPTBIOHT, 1»S3, BT TABIBTT, INC. ALI, BIOHTS BESERVSD iVoL in. No. 13 NEW YORK, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1933 88 PAGES AD MEN REWRITING ACTING Chumps Go for Membership Fee in New York Speaks-After Repeal Bonifaces of the class drinking: ^«s.taui;ants are convinced that on « par with the llkker appeal is the ^jtclusiveness of their establlsh- xaents. With repeal deemed imml- a^ent and every place already more or less wide open the cla^s joints 3iave installed the membership gag -to maintain exclusivity. It's a sub- stitute for the pseudo membership in an incorporated club which was a legal su1}terfuge for a speak and utilized the meinbership idea for protection and convenience. Now the speaks are carrying out the membership idea literally and ^demanding dues for the privilege of spending money in their spots. Re- eentment manifested against this jncihy kill the idea in short order l)ut ,the stifl^er the tariff some of these class speaks are asking when the nienibershlp gag takes effect, the "better Some of the chumpier chumps Jike It. One speak which has been notorious for making it tough to get into is not doing badly so far with a $35 annual fee. Others range theirs from $25 down to $10. The $10 thing may become a gag and result in countless honorary mem- "berships but the managements of the $25 and $36 spotd are capitaliz- ing unusual popularity and look ''^v^|Ssx^^ m^ i M» *iii> w ii il l»(B »j(I i «li[j fe^«!>,^^? same gross which legalized, likker is ibbund to diminish with drinks no longer commanding $1 a copy. Rough on Churches San Francisco, Sept. 4. Picture theatres may think radio is offering them competition, but the churches are kicking, too. Lutheran Church in Oakland this week changed. Its weekly Wednes- day night prayer meeting to Thurs- day. Claimed most of the members stayed home Wednesday nights to listen to NBC's domestic serial 'One Man's Family.' Earn and Spend More in Cotton Milling Towns HUEY'S HOOEY WORTH $1 NICK AT GARDEN? New Orleans, Sept. 4. Kingfish Huey Long wants to go to New York, hire Madison Square Garden, tell, the p0pul3.ce all about the washroom stufC at the Long Island club affair and get rid of a lot of other stuff, good or bad. I-Iuoy thinks they will crash down the doors to listen to him at $1 per. That's why he's picked a spot as big as the Garden. Long's book, 'Every^Man a King,' Is duo out soon. That's the way it's going to be If and when Huoy is -president. The fellow who socked the sen- ator is said to be in the show busi- neaa —and he had plenty of caUse. Huey Long's start in business life was when about 14, as a grifter with an outdoor carnival. In New Orleans the natives can't decide whether Huey has much if any of a bankroll, but in New York the wise uns claim tliat Huey has plenty, witli most of it planted in Canada. Huey's hooey for $1 per at Gar- den would be a wash out, the .show peojile say. Birmingham, Sept. 4. NRA has created a new business era. in the cotton mill towns around about In the South and as a result not only business in gen- eral but show business is hotsy- before the NBA textile code went into effect got around $4 a weelc Today it is different. Tliose work- ers are getting $12.50 for a full week. Film salesmen returning from these small textile towns brag about the theatre business. Local supply houses are reporting larger orders than ever from the little burgs. Circuses and carnivals have heard about the new gold mine. Number of them heading toward the cotton country before the usual time, afraid this is too good to last. DEER NO SPEAK ENGLISH Nor Do Animals Act Right for Camera—May Be Called Off IS THEr m OFF TILENT OBErS Big Salaries Explain Why Seasoned Performers Lis- ten to Suggestions by Novices —• Agency Execs Teaching Show Business to Show People NOT A GAG Showmanship and advertising agencies is still a hot subject which, sans all the hooey, resolves itself down into the proposition of show- men selling themselves down the river to the highest bidder from among the ad agencies. If the ad men are the ones who pay off, the show people seemingly are quite willing to conform with whatever ideas and suggestions the ad men have. Not only do they supply ideas or suggestions, but they become i:he law for the per- former. That may be one reason for some of the abnormal salaries extant. From the agencies' viewpoint it may be worth it, as a squarer for being so presumptious; on the tal- ent's end it's probably the only rea- son why they stand for It. they gave up the idea of trying to (Continued on page 85) Cellophane Bell as Big Help to Highly Pitched Voices for Radio Mary's Sodal Talk Mary Brown Warburton, grand- daughter of John Wanamaker, starts a commercial for SchrafCt's on CBS, thrice weekly, shortly. It win be a. social talk. Stanley Broza, program director of WCAXJ, Philadelphia, afflllated with CBS, figured in consummating the socialite's radio engagement. Germany's lleatre Trade Cut in Half 1st 6 Mos. of '33 PLUG UGLY SEARCH IN NYC FOR NEW WOLHEIM Paramount has been scouring New York for the ugliest mugs avail- able. About half a dozen cauliflower- nosed lads are being lined up with the hope of finding a new Wolheim, Eddie Blatt and Oscar Serlln, making Par's New York tests, have been told to spare no efforts In find- ing the lad, the uglier the better. So far they've only located four, but they're still looking. Hollywood, Sept. 4. Metro Is reported to be debating the advisability of abandoning 'Seciuoia,' the former 'Malibu,' now on location in the Sequoia National Forest. Cast is almost entirely compo.scd of animals with a doer as the lead. Complaint from location Is that the animals can't act and it's impo.ssi- ble to coax the deer to get the necessary maternal look in her eyes in closeupfl. Company advertised extensively in western newspapers for animal actors, but apparently without much success. Holy Moses! Male picture star doing some slumming in vaude in the east sent his private secretary around to the other acts on the bill opening day to say hello and deliver a message. Sec advised the other actors that if they would kindly re- frain from annoying the star during the week, they would all be rewarded after the Anal show with an autographed pic- ture of the big shot. Washington, Sept. 4. German picture business has dropped almost half In tne past six months, according to a report from Trade Commissioner George R. Canty. Report Is for the first six months of 1933 and indicates clear- ly the sad downward trend of pic- *Mre grosses In Berlin. xlepo? t 'Sf-.-J' > • • V. 'Taim - w • • . Theatres Gross Month Open Attend. (marks) Jan. 386 5,149,446 3,817,348 Feb. 387 4,606,460 3,452,817 March 384 5,914,906 3.631,716 April 381 4,665,179 3,446,934 May 377 3,549,969 2,656,303 June 369 3,122,168 2,363,047 Discovery by Boris Morros of a cellophane bell for high-pitched voices, attaining the same smooth results from mikes as trumpet mu- sic does by muting., has the duPont company, manufacturers of cello- phane, Interested. Representatives of duPont have been In touch with Morros on arrangements to further perfect and exploit the bell voice- muting Idea. Morros, musical head of Par- amount and operator of the Par, New York, originated the idea of the cellophane bell on broadcast two weeks ago of the regular Par back- stage program he directs. I^eartilng from his experience with radio so far that the mike Is unkind to highly-pitched Or cultured Yolcea; he devised the volce-muting scheme in order to spot a coloratura so- prano on his program who, after not working for two years, wanted a chance to go on. At first Morros tried tissue paper between her voice and the mike, but that proved im- practical. He then experimented with cellophane, putting it over the soprano's head In bell fashion, witb holes for ears, etc. Morros had the singer d«,the col- oratura arja from 'Travlata,' which calls for the highest notes of any operatic number. It worked, elimi- nating all mike interference which has been high soprano opposition up to now, yet retaining brilliancy of ■^fiJ^.ce and tone Chinese Actors Nip Raw Deal in Ringer Racket Hollywood, Sept. 4. Fact that American picture pro- ducers and directors can't distin- guish one Chinaman from another in majority of cases has resulted In ringing in three or four Celestial extras and bit players for the same part, In many productions calling for this kind. Revelation of ringer gag was dis- closed as part of a protest by Oriental extras to the Academy that they were being handed raw deals by certain intermediaries who fattened on their services. Stagger plan, .-^ay pfot6ata.i\t6, gives the greedy contact men op- operating between Chinatown and studios a cut In many extra sal- aries, with other Oriental national- ities being palmed off as Chinese for the small pic parts. Another complaint Is that the go-betwof-n.s also make a racket of renting co.s- tumes to the chop-stkk extras. Legit Plays on Ship Tried With Players Drawn from Stock Legit plays In tab form on ship- board, as an inducement to pass- enger travel. Is being tried on a Bermuda run as a change from floor show and vaudeville entertain- ment. The Holland-American Lino is experimenting. Company inaug- urates the hunch on the current trip of the 'yollcndam' which left New York last week. Cast does an hour's condensation of a popular play. If getting over, the line will inako these legit performance a perman- ent feature. Virginia Curlcy, stock, who just finished with the Rockridge Players in upstate New York, heads tho players for the first play at sea. IN THE SPIRIT Sales angle behind a new kind of ladies handbag, made fro in old fllfti. Is the fan interest in carryingT around the spirit of the stars. A company sppclalizing in cellu- loid products is getting out tho novelty purse and buying up old film wherever obtainable for tho purpose.